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Expert Selling Tips from a Temecula Short Sale Agent

Should you short sale your home?

Most sellers can easily get confused with short sales. What exactly is it and will you get any benefits from it? Let’s break it down.

If you’re putting your home up for sale and it doesn’t get a high enough offer to cover your mortgage, but you need to unload that property so you take that low offer. Simply put, a short sale is when you end up “short” on paying back your mortgage and your bank agrees to accept an amount that’s less than what you owe on your loan.

Most of the time, homeowners are pushed into short sales due to personal financial difficulties which makes it impossible for them to pay their monthly mortgage.

It’s hardly an ideal situation to be in, but it is definitely smarter than allowing yourself to declare bankruptcy or foreclosure on your property.

Short sales allow you to stay in the property until the completion of the sale. Foreclosures, on the other hand, force you and your family to evacuate the premises immediately.

Short sales do less damage to your credit report than foreclosures. In a few years’ time, you might even be able to apply for a mortgage and purchase a new home for sale.

You will not incur any closing costs in a short sale. The bank will foot the entire bill once the sale is closed.

As a Temecula short sale expert, here’s where I can help you. Put my years of experience to work for you!

Here are the top 3 tips to secure a successful short sale:

1. Understand the potential consequences of a short sale.

Some home sellers are so eager to let go of the property that they don’t think about what happens after they close the sale. Laws vary by state, but there are a lot of states that allow lenders to go after the balance that is left on the loan after the sale.

While lenders are not obliged to approve Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) short sales, this is one way to avoid a deficiency judgment. Through this HAFA federal program, lenders release the borrower from any potential deficiency judgment.

2. Apart from working with a trusted REALTOR®, you also need to talk to a real estate lawyer.

A short sale is time-consuming. It can take months to close. While I can help you with the entire selling process, as a real estate expert, I suggest that you discuss legal matters such as the potential tax implications, protecting your other assets in the future, and more with a trusted lawyer.

3. Keep up with you Homeowner’s Association dues.

You do not want your property to look like a foreclosure. As such, it is important for your home to be properly maintained, if you would be putting this up on short sale.

Don’t stop paying your homeowner’s association dues or condo dues. You don’t want this to hinder the buyer from purchasing the property just because of the unpaid dues he or she has to shoulder after the sale, do you?